Author
Topic: Why Anastasia ?? (Read 34424 times)

This is one question for which I have not found an answer. After the revolution , there were many imposters . Some claiming to be Tatiana , Olga , Marie and even Alexie. Then Why is it that Anastasia was believed to be alive and not others? Why did Anastasia capture the world's imagination? Why did other imposters or claims not get such publicity? Does anyone have answers?

I think this came up on another thread, but can't remember which one (there are just so many!).

Anyway, there were many imposters of all the children, it's just that AN seemed to be the most popular; there were also a fair amount of Alexis's. I think this is becuase AN and AN were the youngest, and maybe people subconciously thought their features stood a better chance of changing over the years than the older daughters.

IMO, AN became the most reknowned due to Anna Anderson. When her existence became known to the Russian emigres, many of them embraced her as the true daughter of the Tsar. I think they wanted to believe. It gave them hope in some way. With the emigres lending her support, the media got a hold of the story, and it just blew up from over time. How AA pulled it off is still a mystery, although some will contend she pulled it off because she really was AN. I believe that she kept her mouth shut and her ears open, then when she did speak, she just regurtitated back what she overheard. On top of that, I agree with what others have said; that AA believed herself to be AN, which is the most important part of telling a lie -- if you believe it, it's true, and no one will know otherwise.

I really do believe someone was feeding her information. Of course some of it could have come from 'overhearing' or someone telling a story like "remember when..." and then going into details. But I really don't think it's impossible someone was feeding her 'memories' for a reason. We'll never know but I don't see how this can be totally discounted.

Wasn't there something to the story that when the woman in the asylum first showed her the family picture, they decided she was Tatiana, (whom I think she resembles more than Anastasia) and she 'switched' later when she found out it was Anastasia who was missing? Also why did AA never mention Alexei, who was missing too? Even if he died soon after their 'escape' don't you think it would have been part of her story?

I have said this many other times on the Forum, but I think it most likely that the survival legends began with a kernel of truth. Why Anastasia? Because more than one person knew that there were two missing bodies, the bodies of two of the youngest of the children. This is the most likely scenario.

Thanks Lisa for those questions, they are haunting me everyday. There is evidence of the bolsheviks searching one of the grand duchesses during the days that followed the murder. That cannot be ignored. I think those two bodies were missing. They lost them, may be while in the house, when Yurovsky went upstairs and there were only a couple of soldiers in the basement; or most likely in the forest(woods?). I do not believe they burned them. I think i read there was no trace of burning in the place they told they did it. Also the testimonies concerning that are very contradictory.

I think that the accepted version of why Anna Anderson switched from being Tatiana to being Anastasia was not because she found out that Anastasia was missing (I am not so sure they knew this at that point) but it was simply because, although facially she resembled Tatiana the most, AA was way too short to be Tatiana who was the tallest of the four daughters, whereas Anastasia, being the shortest, at least in 1918, was the best candidate for AA's height. From what I understand, AA was not even the one who decided to do the identity switch, if I remember correctly it was a fellow patient, the same one who first "recognized" her as one of the grand duchesses... Of course this is all hear-say anyway, none of us knows what really transpired in that asylum in the 1920's....

Helen

Quote

Wasn't there something to the story that when the woman in the asylum first showed her the family picture, they decided she was Tatiana, (whom I think she resembles more than Anastasia) and she 'switched' later when she found out it was Anastasia who was missing?

I read so many books about the subject, it's difficult to remember which one this info came from, but someone definitely wrote about it because that's where I got it from. Maybe Massie or maybe someone else who wrote specifically about Anna Anderson, I am just not sure. But I remember specifically that the height thing was mentioned and that this was the major reason someone decided that AA can't possibly be Tatiana, even though she looked a lot more like her, and she seemed to have become Anastasia by default...

Helen

Helen

Quote

Does anyone remember if anyone wrote about this switching from Tatiana to Anastasia, if so, where can I find this information.

I also remember this but can't seem to find the right book where I read it.

I remember, too, that there was mention of Ana Anderson having read the magazines she had found under her bed. The magazines had photographs of the Royal Romanovs. And, as Ana viewed the one page, it was either a nurse or another patient who reacted to the one photo of Tatiana and said Ana looked like Tatiana.... this conersation continued and someone desided Ana looked more like Anatasia....

The books says that's the newspaper, with which all the story have begun. Ana Anderson having read the magazines she had found under her bed, when she was in the hospital in Dalldorf. The magazines had photographs of the Royal Romanovs. And, as Ana viewed the one page, it was either a nurse or another patient who reacted to the one photo of Tatiana and said Ana looked like Tatiana.... this conversation continued and someone decided Ana looked more like Anastasia....